You are here

Pedego opens 100th retail store

SIMSBURY, Conn. — As it nears its 10th anniversary, Pedego Electric Bikes celebrates the opening of its 100th retail store, in Simsbury, Connecticut.

While the owners of most Pedego retail stores have no background in the bicycle industry, Simsbury Pedego is an exception. Owners Mike and Rachel Wolf are two of the longest serving IBDs in the country.

Mike Wolf, 78, counts his start in the bike industry to the age of 13 — giving him 65 years in the business.

The Wolfs also own Bloomfield Bicycle & Repair Shop in Bloomfield, Conn., and the Bicycle Cellar in Simsbury.

Unlike most IBDs, Wolf was an early adopter of electric bikes. He’s been selling them on a large scale for 14 years, and carries more than a dozen e-bike brands in the Bloomfield store, including Pedego.

Pedego Simsbury, which is in the same shopping complex as the Bicycle Cellar, is devoted exclusively to sales and rentals of Pedego e-bikes.

Pedego also announced the opening of its 98th and 99th stores, in downtown San Diego and in Petoskey, Mich., respectively. Pedego San Diego is currently operating as a pop-up shop at the BRIC San Diego center on the edge of the San Diego Bay until build-out at its permanent location is completed.

Pedego Petoskey is the third Pedego store owned by Bryan Newman, who also has Pedego locations in the California desert communities of La Quinta and Palm Springs. He chose Petoskey because he rents Pedego bikes to many visitors from the northern Michigan city who winter in California.

For an in-depth look at Pedego, its retailers, and its unusual business strategy — along with other e-bike news — look for the special electric bike supplement in the July 15 issue of Bicycle Retailer.